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Most of the songs on the album had been in the band's live repertoire for some time. The band found a rural rehearsal space near Jacksonville which they nicknamed "Hell House" due to the long hours spent there jamming in the intense Florida heat, and it was there that they composed and ran through the songs endlessly until they were perfected. Producer Al Kooper marveled at how well prepared the band were once they entered the studio; every note was immutable and absolutely no improvisation was allowed.[4]

Bassist Leon Wilkeson left the band early in the album's recording sessions after recording the tracks "Mississippi Kid" and "Tuesday's Gone". Ex-Strawberry Alarm Clock guitarist Ed King had been extremely impressed with the band after an earlier incarnation of Skynyrd had opened for Strawberry Alarm Clock in Florida circa 1970. He told vocalist Ronnie Van Zant to keep him in mind if he ever needed a guitarist, and Van Zant immediately thought of him and he was given an invitation to replace Wilkeson as bassist. Once the recording sessions were wrapping up, Van Zant decided that King would better serve the band as a guitarist, and he visited Wilkeson and convinced him to rejoin. Wilkeson returned to the band and King moved to lead guitar, giving the band what would become their trademark "Three Guitar Army" along with Allen Collins and Gary Rossington.[4]

As the band worked up "Simple Man" in rehearsal, producer Kooper expressed his feeling that the song was weak and shoudn't be included on the album. The band felt differently on both counts and couldn't change Kooper's mind. Ultimately, Van Zant escorted the producer outside to his car and ordered him to remain there until the song was recorded. The band recorded the song on their own with the producer banned from the studio, and it subsequently became one of Lynyrd Skynyrd's most well known tracks.[4]

American troops returning home from the Vietnam War by plane in the mid-1970s traveled on what became known as the Freebird Express, and it was common for the song "Free Bird" to be played in their honour as they boarded the planes.

The album was re-released in 2001 as an expanded version with bonus tracks, including demos of many of the songs on the album.[1] Sales through 2014 were an estimated 2 million units internationally.[5]

The cover photograph was taken on Main Street in Jonesboro, Georgia and shows, from left to right, Leon Wilkeson (seated), Billy Powell (seated), Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington (seated), Bob Burns, Allen Collins and Ed King. The photo was the last in a long day of shooting for the album cover, and Rossington vomited on the sidewalk seconds after it was taken.[4]

With Ed King's death on August 22, 2018, Rossington is the last surviving member of Lynyrd Skynyrd pictured in this photo.

Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd immediately put the band on the rock-and-roll map. Upon its release, rock journalist Robert Christgau acknowledged the quality of the songs and gave the album an "A" rating while referring to Lynyrd Skynyrd as a "staunchly untranscendent band".[2] Producer Al Kooper, a close friend of Pete Townshend's, secured the band a spot opening for The Who on their American tour, and Lynyrd Skynyrd was subsequently exposed to much larger audiences than they'd ever seen before.[4]